The Hyperacusis Network Message Board

H&T

momof2 — Thur, 04 Dec 2008 06:04:27 GMT

Who has just hyperacusis, and who has both? Which is the worse of the two?

relapse

charlenef — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 22:30:53 GMT

Why at least 3 times a year do i have a relapse? i dont even know what caused this one. It seems like im doing ok for me anyway then bam my ears are so loud i cant even stand my families voices.

Forum: New Messages

Intracranial pressure

LizH — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 22:08:01 GMT

Does anybody have any experience with investigating intracranial pressure? I have read that this can be associated with or perhaps even a cause of pulsatile tinnitus. I've also read that it usually is associated with young overweight females and while I am not so young and definitely not overweight, I am female. I've noticed since long ago that for me the sound moves around in my head, sometimes one side, sometimes the other and sometimes on top. When asked by the last ENT where do I hear the sound ,I told him "it moves" but he didn't respond. Yet another blank!

I don't think any of the tests I've had were for this and I'd welcome any info.
Thanks, Liz.

Forum: New Messages

It's back...=o( (middle ear myoclonus)

JrtheFreak — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 04:14:00 GMT

Well, after about 6 months of peace and quiet my myoclonus came back. I've had it for about 2 months now. It is still in my left ear, but it is a different sound than last time. This time it is a low rumble type of sound that gets louder in a cyclic pattern (does not match my pulse). It hasn't been too bothersome, but lately it has been getting more and more difficult to fall asleep.

I'm guessing good old stress brought it back. Work is as stressful as ever. =o(.

The last time I had this I went to UPMC in Pittsburgh. but this time I am going to a local doctor. I also made an appointment to see an audiogist. She is going to do a test to see if she can pin point where it might be originating from. I can't remember what the test was called, but I know it is a 30 second test.

I'm sure my local doctor isn't too familar with this condition, but I need to start somewhere. I have a feeling I'll be making a trip to DC or NYC to see someone who has a lot of experience with treating this condition at some point.

I'm almost to the point of quitting my job and finding something less stressful. I'm a process engineer and maybe I need a career change...

I'll post updates when I can.

http://forums.chat-hyperacusis.net/tool/post/danmalcore/vpost?id=2481308

Forum: New Messages

Idea in the Making

Danastics007 — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 01:53:39 GMT

:idea: With my life, I have been VERY interested in American Sign Language (ASL).
I think ASL is a great way for Hyperacusic People to communicate.

So, I am going to start something new...once I get a Camera...I asked one for Christmas this year :tongue:

Find me on YouTube...in the near future...

Anyone else knows ASL can help!

Forum: Friendly Chat

Two Worlds

Danastics007 — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 01:08:10 GMT

I really love my deaf world
I tell you, it is grand
But when I stay here long enough
My Hyper Ears go bad!

You deaf people you way too loud
You probably know this well
You clap your hands and stop your feet
My ears don't want to dwell

My hands they wave up in the air
They really love to move
But without a voice, it's way too quiet
My ears can't fit this groove

But somehow, I guess it's best
I'll stick right next to you
I will interpret I will immerse
I'm tellin' you, I'll make it work!

I'm sorry if I winch at you
And maybe, might get mad
But just remember, I love your world
Your quiet presence makes me glad

Forum: Friendly Chat

NIH study for those with Misophonia

Gizmookie — Sat, 29 Nov 2008 05:14:03 GMT

Hi everyone. I wanted to share some exciting news for those who suffer with Misophonia. Dr. Marsha Johnson has spoken to researchers at the NIH about setting up a study and many of us at the website http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/Soundsensitivity/ have sent in our personal stories to the NIH. It has sparked their interest and we've received a letter back and this is what it said...

Dear _______,

Thank you for your inquiry regarding soft sound sensitivity syndrome. Several researchers at the NIH are very interested in soft sound sensitivity and we are currently considering investigation of this
problem. As with any scientific investigation, careful and extensive planning must occur prior to implementation of a research study. We anticipate being able to provide you with more information about our plans in approximately six (6) months.

We acknowledge your interest and will contact you when we are able to provide specifics about the possibility of an NIH study.

Future inquiries can be directed to me at this email address:
soundsensitivity@nidcd.nih.gov

Regards,

Carmen C Brewer, Ph.D.
National Institute on Deafness and other Communication Disorders
National Institutes of Health

This is great news for us and anyone here who suffers from this is encouraged to send in your story to the NIH so they may have it on record for further study. Please send them your name and contact info, current age, age at onset of symptoms, the sounds that drive you mad, your reaction to hearing sounds, how this has affected you in your daily life, whether others in your family experience this as well, and treatments you are currently trying or have tried for this condition. Together we can make a difference and help those, including ourselves, who suffer from this condition. Thanks so much!!

Darlene

Forum: New Messages

New Here. Advice on TRT versus Neuromonics?

crittercuddler — Sat, 29 Nov 2008 02:39:42 GMT

Hello all, I am new to this forum, my name is Michelle.

I have been suffering from persistent, chronic, tinnitus for five months now. Mine is of a high pitched, ringing nature and is of course the most distressing while I am lying down or am in a quiet environment. It is important to note though that I can still hear my tinnitus with the television on (if I am lying down) and often during the day if it is quiet enough. I am very distressed by the situation as it is making it very hard for me to sleep, it is effecting my ability to concentrate, and is surely exacerbating an already present and severe depressive disorder. I have always enjoyed and sought out quieter environments, but find now that I am in quite a predicament because if I seek out the quiet I am ambushed by the awful ringing and I become upset, yet I don't want to be around noise either because I have also developed some hyperacusis. It is important to note that my tinnitus and hyperacusis has resulted from me discontinuing the use of the benzodiazepine, Klonopin. I used it for a year and a half (including my taper) and will forever regret that I ever took it for my anxiety (which is a whole other can of worms that I won't go into) I am sure many here know the horrors of benzo usage.

I am seeking treatment for my tinnitus, as it is very distressing/disabling for me and has not let up in these 5 months. I have reserched Tinnitus Retraining Therapy and I know about Neuromonics. I am interested in these two approaches based on the science behind them, but I am confused as to which one to pursue. Neuromonics is more alluring to me because it claims to have a shorter treatment duration (6 months as opposed to 18-24 for TRT) and it is less intrusive being as you only have to wear the device for a few hours each day, as opposed to having to wear a WSG or have sound enrichment at all times with TRT. I don't anticipate their being a great cost difference between the two because think I would need WSGs if I did TRT... so both will likely cost over 3,000 with therapy and equipment.

My question is just if anyone here has any additional information that might help me choose between the two? I am fortunate to live in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex where both TRT and Neuromonics are available to me.

Thank you!

Forum: New Messages

High pitched sounds from TVs

schrizto — Sat, 29 Nov 2008 01:48:27 GMT

Anyone else able to hear a high pitched whine from TVs very clearly, so clearly that it makes you unable to view or be around TVs that are on? This only applies to the older, CRT TVs, not the new flat-panel LCD ones.

If so, how is/was it treated?

Forum: New Messages

Ear pressure

jayjay — Fri, 28 Nov 2008 04:12:54 GMT

After developing H & T I thought my problems were at least over, but now I realize I have a problem decompressing my ears whenever I go over a hill. It's quite depressing.

I'm not sure if any of you have this problem, but whenever I go up or down my ears, particularly my right, gets all plugged up with pressure and it hurts. I usually have to wait til the next morning or when I get a good yawn to get things better.

Does anyone know if there are developments to take of this? I wonder if there's an ear piece or some sort to depressurize our ears. If not, someone should look into developing one. I would, but I'm not a scientist nor doctor.

Forum: New Messages

Say NO to Syringing!! Ear protection Awareness

TinnitusFreak — Thur, 27 Nov 2008 00:54:49 GMT

Ear protection safety devices are designed to protect the ears from elevated decibel levels and/or debris.

These devices are designed to protect the ears from increased decibel levels. Ear plugs are the most popular form of ear protection,

and are usually used in conjunction with ear muffs and canal caps. There are several types of ear protection devices.

Examples include expansion plugs, button plugs, porous plugs, and foam ear plugs. An expansion plug is expanding foam that seals the ears.

A button plug allows the user to hear sound naturally and clearly, but at lower and safer sound level.

A porous plug is made of porous foam and provides high quality protection from noise. A foam ear plug is a type of expansion plug that can be expanded just like an expansion plug to seal the ear canal. Other types of ear protection are commonly available.

Ear protection safety devices function in a variety of ways. Any environment in which the noise level exceeds 85 decibels requires an ear protection.

An ear plugs is placed in the ear to block the ear canal to protect the ear from over exposure to noise.

Ear plugs can be preformed plug, formable plug, porous plugs, or button plugs. A preformed plug comes in various sizes to fit into different sizes of ear canals.

A formable plug, also called a foam ear plug can automatically take the shape of an ear. Ear plugs can be disposable or reusable.

A porous plug can regulate the flow of air and control the atmospheric pressure to protect an ear.

A porous plug is most often used during airplane travel. Ear plugs are also available with a detachable attenuator button filter.

Ear protection safety devices are designed and manufactured to meet most industry specifications.

Ear protection safety devices are used in any workplace that exceeds maximum noise standards.

Each hearing protection device is labeled with a noise reduction rating. The quality and effectiveness of ear protection devices may vary.

NB: DONT Ever Syringe !!!!

Forum: New Messages

Help is so hard to find these days!!!

TinnitusFreak — Thur, 27 Nov 2008 00:50:31 GMT

Condition: Tinnitus / Hyperacusis

Symptoms: Sever Anxiety, head & neck pains, depression, tremors, tensions, anger, aggressive nail biting, grinding teeth, muscle spasms, itchiness, skin rashes, (Skizofrenia)

Cause to symptom: Syringe Procedure

Damage to symptom: Noise, wind, shoes, traffic, fans, hair dryers, eating and dish washing. Washing machine, ect

Duration of Illness 22 Months. (without scan or analyisis)

CT Scan of the Internal Auditory (Ear) Canal (IAC)

This computer tomography technology, called cross-sectional imaging, allows the radiologist to look at different levels, or slices, of the skull bones leading from the ear using a rotating X-ray beam. In looking at these slices, the radiologist is able to assess skull bones for injury, infection, fluid levels and abnormalities.

The exam may include injecting an iodine substance in the vein. Diabetic patients and those with allergies must inform the radiology staff and may need clearance from their doctor before the exam. Blood tests may also be required prior to the administration of contrast materials. Patients whose exam includes an injection may not eat or drink anything four hours before the test. During the injection the patient may experience a warm sensation throughout the body and a metal taste in the mouth. This is normal.

This procedure is done in two positions. For both positions, the head is positioned in a holder, and the patient is required to hold very still. For the first position, patients lie on their backs with arms at the sides. For the second position, the patient lies on the stomach with the head resting on the chin. Arms are positioned at the sides. Only the patient's head is covered by the scanner, and the scanner is open at the back and the front, allowing the patient to see out. This procedure usually takes approximately 30 minutes.

Titre du document / Document title

Minute findings of inner ear anomalies by three-dimensional CT scanning

Auteur(s) / Author(s)

ISONO M.⁽¹⁾ ; MURATA K.⁽¹⁾ ; AIBA K.⁽¹⁾ ; MIYASITA H.⁽¹⁾ ; TANAKA H.⁽¹⁾ ; ISHIKAWA M.⁽¹⁾ ;

Affiliation(s) du ou des auteurs / Author(s) Affiliation(s)

(1) Department of Otolaryngology, Kinki University School of Medicine, 377-2 Ohno-Higashi, Osaka-Sayama, Osaka 589, JAPON

Scan reveals structure of inner ear

By Anna Salleh for Science Online

The most detailed 3D view of the internal structure of the inner ear has been revealed by scientists who used a new imaging technique.

The Australian team, including Dr Allan Jones at the University of Sydney's Key Centre for Microscopy and Microanalysis, will report its findings in the journal Acta Oto-Laryngologica.

The scientists revealed the detailed structure of the inner ear of a guinea pig, using a new method called x-ray microtomography.

"It's CT scanning for microscopy, basically a CT scanner for a microscope," Dr Jones said.

Like hospital CT scanning, the method images internal structures in 3D using x-rays.

Structures like bones absorb more x-rays and are more visible than those that absorb less.

The 3D image is built up by taking a series of 'slices' of the solid object.

But x-ray microtomography can take many more slices that a hospital CT scanner.

This provides much higher resolution, allowing scientists to image the delicately thin structures of the inner ear.

The image the scientists generated shows the stapes, the saccular macula, and the utricular macula.

It also shows the coils of the cochlea and the fluid-filled semicircular canals that help an animal keep balance.

"This structure is actually embedded in the most dense bone in the body, the temporal bone, and normal hospital medical CT doesn't have enough resolution to see these," Dr Jones said

Human Microscopic Anatomy

By Radivoj V. Krsti

http://bjr.birjournals.org/cgi/content/full/75/898/847

http://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayIssue?jid=JLO&volumeId=122&issueId=09&iid=2150724

Progress in the biochemistry of the internal ear Related Publications

http://www.emedicine.com/Ent/topic471.htm

Aberrant internal carotid artery in the middle-ear space

Marissa Botma F.R.C.S. ^a1, Robin A. Kell F.R.C.S. ^a1, Jo Bhattacharya F.R.C.R. ^a2 and John A. Crowther F.R.C.S. ^a1
^a1 Department of Otololaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery, Southern General Hospital, Glasgow, UK
^a2 Department of Radiology, Southern General Hospital, Glasgow, UK

Article author query

kell a

crowther a

Abstract

The incidence of an aberrant internal carotid artery in the middle ear is approximately one per cent and most patients are asymptomatic. We present two patients with an aberrant internal carotid artery who presented with pulsatile tinnitus and an intra-tympanic mass. Here we discuss the clinical presentation, relevant radiographic investigations and further management of these patients.

(Published Online March 8 2006)

http://www.patient.co.uk/showdoc/40025329/

Forum: New Messages

Tinnitus & Hyperacusis

TinnitusFreak — Thur, 27 Nov 2008 00:37:35 GMT

TINNITUS

Who said this was nothing, Huh?

Imagine being at a movie where the sound track is turned to the highest volume. Actors' voices are screaming at you. After five minutes, you leave holding your ears and cursing the theater for its poor judgment. Turning newspaper pages, running water in the kitchen sink, your child placing dishes and silverware on the table - all are intolerable to your ears. A baby cries or a truck screeches its brakes to a halt and the sound is excruciating. What has happened to my ears?

The person who has hyperacusis can't simply get up and walk away from noise. Instead, the volume on the whole world seems stuck on high. Hyperacusis is defined as a collapsed tolerance to normal environmental sounds. Ears also lose most of their dynamic range. What is dynamic range?

Dynamic range is the ability of the ear to deal with quick shifts in sound loudness. Suddenly everyday noises sound unbearably or painfully loud. The disorder is often chronic and usually accompanied by tinnitus (ringing in the ears), but can occur in patients who have little or no measurable hearing loss.

Hyperacusis differs from recruitment, which is an abnormal growth in the perception of loudness accompanied with hearing loss. With recruitment, loud noises are uncomfortable. With hyperacusis, all sounds are too loud.

Most patients also experience inner ear pain or a feeling of fullness (pressure) in the ears. Hyperacusis can be devastating to the patient's career, relationships, and peace of mind. Finding the proper diagnosis is difficult because few doctors understand hyperacusis.

A LIFE ALTERING CONDITION

Hyperacusis makes living in this noisy world difficult and dramatically changes the patient's pattern of life. Moving about, traveling, and communicating with others is challenging. Ear protection must be worn in areas that seem too loud. This includes earplugs, industrial earmuffs or both if necessary.

Even then, many vocational and recreational activities must be curtailed or eliminated because, although protection reduces the noise entering the ears, it sometimes seems insufficient to block out certain frequencies or noise intensities. The things most of us take for granted, such as driving a car, walking down the street, riding a bicycle, listening to the TV, stereo, someone speaking over a telephone or microphone, shopping, attending indoor events, dining at restaurants, taking vacations, or participating in group activities often are difficult or impossible. Many have difficulty using a vacuum cleaner, a hammer, a lawn mower, power tools, ride a motor boat or motorcycle.

Most jobs involve some level of noise. In some cases, the patient may need to seek other employment or attempt to secure disability with the help of an understanding doctor. Loud noise exposure generally makes the condition worse and exacerbates the accompanying tinnitus. Patients report they perceive sound - even their own voice - as uncomfortably loud and this not only causes tinnitus to increase but may also cause inner ear discomfort or a popping reflex in the ear. In fact some patients actually try to change the pitch of their own voice to accommodate their ears. This may help their ears but a patient can become hoarse in the process.

In cases not involving aural trauma to the inner ear, hyperacusis can also be acquired as a result of damage to the brain or the neurological system. In these cases, hyperacusis can be defined as a cerebral processing problem specific to how the brain perceives sound. In rare cases, hyperacusis may be caused by a vestibule disorder. This type of hyperacusis, called vestibular hyperacusis, is caused by the brain perceiving certain sounds as motion input as well as auditory input. In some cases, vestibular hyperacusis can affect the autonomic system and cause problems such as loss of consciousness, mental confusion, nausea, or extreme fatigue.

Ricardo de Barros

Forum: New Messages

Questions

mystic_writer — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 20:36:23 GMT

I found this forum while trying to find information to help my son. He is exhibiting signs of misophonia. This has been around at a small level through the past several years, however in the last year he has had more difficulty dealing with eating noises. He is now in his early teens. I would like to know if there is any knowledge on the following areas:

1. Is there any relationship known to fibromyalgia. I developed this syndrome in my teens and while I have noise sensitivity (like migraine sufferers) it is not to the extent that he seems to suffer.

2. Could this be caused by earlier difficulties at the supper table. As an example if he was singled out for chastisement for behaviour during meals? I am wondering if this would have created an abnormal negative response to eating sounds?

I will be investigating several options as I try to help him deal with this but it is a relief to know that this is not just him acting out. I am sure he will be relieved to know that others have similar problems as well.

Thank you.

M.W.

Forum: New Messages

White Noise 2 brought back bad memories

BonnieBeth — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 18:49:36 GMT

Hi once again, all...!

I'm a big fan of supernatural horror films (along the lines of Jacob's Ladder and the Sixth Sense). I saw a very interesting movie recently (title: "White Noise 2" starring Nathan Fillian). This film is the sequel to White Noise but I think it's a better film, and the story line is different. Anyway, even though I have become much more sound tolerant over the years, for this film I had to turn the volume down, due to the noise levels throughout, and use the closed captions.

There is one scene in the beginning of the movie where the lead character tries to commit suicide but is revived after a near death experience. Then, there is a scene where he is walking down the street experiencing some very weird and bizarre stuff with regard to his hearing - horrible loud noises and distorted voices, sounds coming in and out, everything very shrill. It was like listening to a replay of what I went through in '05.

If anybody ever wondered what I was hearing after my MRI, just rent this movie. What the character heard as he walked down the street is EXACTLY what I was hearing. The only thing is, if your ears are very sensitive you may not be able to handle the part of the film I'm talking about. I couldn't handle it today - I had to turn the volume off! And it brought back some very bad memories which I'm glad are finally over.

Other than the "noise" it was a very good film I thought. Thankfully there are closed captions.

Best regards,

Bonnie

Forum: Friendly Chat